


Candle Light

by YeolsTruly



Series: NCT Shenanigans [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Jaehyun is a Bae, M/M, Married Life, One Shot, Romance, Soft Kim Jungwoo (NCT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:27:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23229358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YeolsTruly/pseuds/YeolsTruly
Summary: Jungwoo is a perfectionist. However, everything seems to be rushed and unappealing. With mismatched clothes and imperfect table setup, he is on the verge of breaking down. After all, he just wants to prepare a surprise for his other half.Despite these negative thoughts, Yoonoh says that everything is perfect.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Jungwoo
Series: NCT Shenanigans [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678876
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Candle Light

**Author's Note:**

> It's funny how I know NCT since the start of their debut way back 2016 but I only recently started to stan them T_T
> 
> Btw, do you guys have a twitter account? Follow me here -> [YeolsTruly](https://twitter.com/TrulyYeol)

How long had it been since Jungwoo started preparing?

The brunet looked back at the clock that was hanging on the wall on top of the countertop. It was already eight seventeen in the evening. He has exactly forty-three minutes until the older will arrive.

Jungwoo sprinted towards their shared room and grabbed the vase that he had bought two years ago when he started his interest in gardening. Since then, he regularly changed the flowers every week but this time, it was particularly empty. He went back to the dining area and placed the ceramic thing on top of it before rushing towards the bathroom.

The sink was still half-full of water. The bouquet of roses that he had bought five blocks away was submerged from the liquid in order to maintain its lifespan. He grabbed the flowers and picked six of the best roses in the batch.

“Yep, these are the ones.” He muttered particularly to no one. He went back to the dining room and placed two roses inside the vase. He put the remaining ones on the countertop.

Jungwoo’s eyes averted back to the wall clock. Eight twenty-one. The time was slowly ticking.

“Ugh. I hope that I’ll make it in time…” The brunet snatched a white cloth inside the cupboard, alongside two long candles and a matchbox. He placed them beside the vase.

He then went to the extra room that was supposed to be a guest room but it completely turned into a storage room as their belongings increased. As expected, the room was dusty and full of various things from his and significant other’s work. Pursing his lips, he had no choice but to succumb deeper inside the room and try to locate the antique candleholders that he had brought ages ago in an antique shop back in his trip to Jeju.

A spider crawled outside a bookshelf, startling the man. He creased his eyebrows and sighed irritatingly yet he didn’t stop his searching. He saw various things inside the room--- an old sprinkler, a freaking pitchfork, tons of stack of papers, a golf club, and even a diving helmet. Jungwoo took a mental note about opening a garage sale in the next summer season.

“Ah, finally...” He saw the bronze candleholders inside a huge metal chest that was already starting to dilapidate. He grabbed the two of them and realized how heavy they were and went back to the kitchen to rinse the dust and grim away. He grabbed the towel and wiped the water off and then with careful hands, placed the two candles inside the holders.

Eight thirty-five. Damn those candleholders! They really took a lot of his time.

Jungwoo rolled his eyes. He grabbed the white cloth he had brought earlier and covered the dining table in one go. He fixed the creases and made sure that the glass table was properly and completely hidden with the help of the cloth. He placed the two candleholders, completely parallel on each other, trapping the vase in between them. The brunet’s OCD kicked in. The set-up was not perfectly aligned so it took him for another three good minutes before he got satisfied with the arrangement of the candleholders and the vase.

“Damn it, I got carried away!” He shrieked when he saw that it was already near quarter to nine. With clumsy hands, he quickly plucked the petals of the roses he had handpicked and scattered them on top of the table. He didn’t like how disorganized the pattern of the petals he had created but he remembered that it was supposed to look _that_ way or else doing a fixed pattern like a heart or a parallelogram seemed inappropriate.

“Internet, I’m going to trust you with this one…” Eight forty-nine. He placed the table napkins and the silverware on the table. He even got the most glamorous plates they got in their humble home. They never used them, by the way. They were intended to be served to the visitors.

“G-Gah!” A picture frame fell when Jungwoo tried to snatch the tissue papers. Luckily, the shattered glasses didn’t disperse on the ground and he was able to clean them up fast with a broom but the bad news was that the picture frame that just got broken was the most prized possession the brunet had.

It was a photo of their wedding.

“My goodness, Jungwoo you’re such a prick!” He chastised to himself. He quickly hid the photo inside the photo album and placed the book inside the innermost part of the shelf, _‘He wouldn’t notice that, right?’_ He said to himself.

Eight fifty-two. Jungwoo’s heart was starting to palpitate.

The oven ticked, indicating that the meat that he was baking was now done. A large thorn was plucked out of his chest, “A-Aw!” He exclaimed for he got burned when he touched the metal tray with his bare hands. He put the gloves on and released the tray out of the oven and placed it on the countertop beside the stove. He got his final ingredients in a flash--- black paper, the secret glaze he had made earlier, a touch of lemon vest and some cilantro and _bam_ , the main course was done. He swiftly cut the meat in half and placed them in each of the extravagant plates he fetched had in the cupboard a few minutes ago. He grabbed two wine glasses and placed them each beside the plates. He covered the plates with a special lid to retain their freshness and to keep the food’s aroma from quickly dissipating.

Eight fifty-six. Jungwoo was now panicking. He looked so disheveled and smelled smoke and old pages of a book. He got his lover’s favorite wine and placed it diagonally across the vase. He checked the table if everything that he had needed was there--- Simple yet elegant white cloth? _Check._ Glamorous plates and never been used silverwares? _Check._ His favorite vase with roses placed inside it? _Check._ The goddamn antique candle holders with the candles inside them? _Check._

Oh wait…

“It’s not freaking lit yet!” Jungwoo clasped his brown locks and rushed towards the kitchen. He grabbed the forgotten matchbox and ran back towards the dining area. Eight fifty-eight. His hands were now badly trembling. He tried to light one match but it just stubbornly produced no flame. He tried another one until the fifth matchstick took pity on him and decided to give him the fire that he needed.

“F-Finally…” He exhaled as soon as the candles had been lit. He wiped the sweat running down from his temples. His eyes glanced at the clock. Nine o’ one.

_Oops._

“Crap, crap, crap!” He cursed and shambled but his foot accidentally hit the couch, “AW!” He exclaimed and grabbed his injured foot. He then shook his head and hopped towards the room. He went to the closet and grabbed the first cloth that his eyes had laid upon--- a navy blue long-sleeved polo. It was his least favorite dress because it was so loose. He didn’t have any choice. He also got the first jeans he saw and quickly put it on his long legs. While he was buttoning up his polo, he multitasked and put on his favorite perfume that smelled peaches and a hint of vanilla. He looked in the mirror and combed his messy locks. For him, he still looked awful but it was better than nothing.

Jungwoo dashed back into the dining area and was relieved when he saw that the candles were still brightly shining. Nine o’ seven. Anytime now…

He turned off the lights and immediately, the light coming from the candles and the outside world had illuminated around the area. He also sprayed the rose-scented air freshener that he had bought earlier across the room.

“There…” He breathed. Jungwoo took a one last glance. He did his best… right?

“Argh, it still isn’t enough!” He stomped his feet on the ground like a child. He then suddenly remembered the grumpy couple living downstairs. He didn’t want to deal with their complaints again.

He sat on the couch, lips still pouting in annoyance. He wasn’t satisfied with his work. What would his other half say if they saw the little surprise he had just prepared?

Jungwoo shook his head and firmly closed his eyes, _‘No, Jungwoo. Get a grip! It’s already been made, so deal with it!’_

He heaved a heavy sigh and fixed his sleeves. His heart was wildly banging against his chest. He tried to smile but he couldn’t.

Suddenly, the front door opened which immediately interrupted the brunet’s train of pessimistic thoughts. He leaped in shock and ran to meet the newcomer.

_‘C-Crap! It’s now or never!’_

Jung Yoonoh looked awfully tired. Black circles were starting to form under his eyes. He opened the lamp near the front door and diligently returned back his work shoes on the shoe rack. He noticed the weird lighting on the hallway but he couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. Shrugging his shoulders, he removed his coat and loosened his tie.

He heard footsteps stomping towards his direction. A very _familiar_ person welcomed him, wearing mismatched clothes. Jaehyun’s first expression was a surprised look but it immediately subsided upon seeing the face of the newcomer.

“H-Hi…” Jungwoo squeaked. His arms were hiding behind his back. He was looking on the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, “W-Welcome back!” He stuttered.

Yoonoh flashed a smile, “Hey.” He greeted. Jungwoo glanced a bit and snatched the former’s coat. Jaehyun approached him, his wide grin still evident and wrapped his arms around the brunet’s waist. He kissed his forehead.

“Hi. Why are you wearing that? You’re supposed to be in your pajamas now, right?” He asked. Jungwoo blushed madly.

“A-Ah… About that…” He averted his gaze, “D-Don’t you remember something important today?”

Yoonoh looked at him with an indifferent expression. He scratched his raven hair, “Uh… I-I’m sorry baby. I can’t remember something special today…”

Jungwoo sighed and rolled his eyes. He then grabbed his lover’s arms and pulled him towards the living room. Instantly, Jaehyun saw the lights and the setup in the dining area.

“W-What…”

“H-Happy birthday, you dummy!” Jungwoo fumed, his cheeks madly burning, “I can’t believe that you have forgotten your birth date!”

Jaehyun’s mouth was widely opened. To make the atmosphere funnier, the top button of his work clothes had popped out, revealing some of his skin. He then turned his attention to the pouting man, mouth still widely agape, “B-Baby I…”

“You don’t really remember?” Jungwoo repeated. He slowly sauntered in front of his other half, “Yoonoh-yah. Please don’t be so hard on yourself. I thought that you were just too busy to remind me yesterday, it turns out that you have completely forgotten!”

Jaehyun shook his head and put his one arm behind his head, “I-I can’t believe I forgot my freaking birthday…” He snickered, “J-Jungwoo, this is…” He looked at the romantic set-up, “I-I…”

“D-Don’t say it!” Jungwoo exclaimed, “I-I know that I did my best but it resulted really bad… I’m sorry---“

He was silenced with a bone-crushing hug, “What are you saying, baby?” Yoonoh muffled on his shoulders, “This is perfect. I-I can’t believe that you really did this for me… T-Thank you so much, Jungwoo.”

Jungwoo ruffled his hair, “D-Dummy. Of course, I w-wanted to do something for you…” Jaehyun let him go and caressed his lover’s face. Jungwoo attempted to turn away his head but the older stopped him, “Jungwoo, thank you.”

He slowly leaned closer and closed their gap, kissing the brunet gently. Jungwoo swore his heart stopped for a second. When the former pulled out, he was bearing the most handsome face the brunet had ever seen.

“All of my exhaustion from work has completely vanished. Once again babe, thank you.” He pecked Jungwoo’s lips. Then another. Then another one.

“O-Okay, stop it now!” He reprimanded. Yoonoh chuckled and tightened the grip around his lover’s face, “You really never fail to surprise me every single day, huh? I’m really glad that I married you.” He rubbed their noses together, “I love you Jungwoo.”

“Mhmm. I-I love you too, Yoon-ah…” Jaehyun grabbed his hands and kissed them with so much love, “Let’s stay for a moment like this, please?”

Jungwoo remembered the expensive steak that he just cooked. Suddenly, Yoonoh seemed more interesting to entertain than the setup that he just made.

He wrapped his arms around the older’s neck, “M’Kay. Just a head start. I brought your favorite wine.”

“I don’t have a favorite wine.” Jaehyun disagreed. Jungwoo tilted his head, “Huh? I thought---“ The raven-haired interrupted him with a kiss. He was smirking when he returned his gaze back to the brunet.

“Although I have the most beautiful person in my arms right now.”

Jungwoo almost melted. His panicking for almost forty-five minutes was worth it, after all.


End file.
